McLaughlin v City Bank of Sydney [1914] UKPCHCA 3

598 HIGH COURT [1914.

(PRIVY COUNCIL.]

McLAUGHLIN fi i z A hs 2 APPELLANT; PLAINTIFF, AND THE CITY BANK OF SYDNEY 3 . RESPONDENTS. DEFENDANTS, F

ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

Lunatic—Payments by wife of lunatic for his benefit—Money borrowed by wife—

Privy Deposit of title deeds by wife as security for loan—Ratification by lunatic when Couner.* sane—Money lent by bank to wife—Accounts, 1914. The wife of A., while he was temporarily insane, applied certain money Tuy I. standing to his credit with a bank to replace certain trust moneys which

before his insanity A. had paid to his own credit with the bank. After recovering his sanity A. did nothing for 44 years by way of claiming a refund of the money from the trust estate.

Held, that A. had ratified the payment by his wife.

Before A. became insane he had begun an action against B. to recover a certain sum of money and B. had thereupon obtained an order that A., who for many years had been B.'s solicitor, should deliver a bill of costs for taxation. Subsequently to A. becoming insane, A.'s wife granted a mortgage and handed over the deeds of certain of A.'s property to the bank as security for advances to be made to her, and borrowed a certain sum of money from the bank and paid it to B. by way of compromise and full settlement of the claims of A. and B. against each other, the order for delivery of a bill of costs being rescinded by consent. After recovering his sanity A, left the settlement unassailed by legal proceedings, and did nothing for so long a time that the Statute of Limitations ran out, and he also took the full benefit of the settle- ment.

* Present—Harl Loreburn, Lord Atkinson, Lord Sumner, Sir Joshua and Sir Arthur Channell.

f : 18 O.L.B.] OF AUSTRALIA. 599

: Held, that the bank was entitled to recover from 4. the money so lent, and Privy had @ lien upon the above-mentioned deeds as security for that money. ae Decisions of the High Court: City Bank of Sydney v. McLaughlin, 9 = Gv C.LR., 615, and McLaughlin v. City Bank of Sydney ; City Bank of Sydney McLavaur1n vy. McLaughlin, 14 C.L.R., 684, affirmed. a 5 Crry Bank or SYDNEY. CoNSOLIDATED AppEALS from the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. These were consolidated appeals from the decisions of the High Court: City Bank of Sydney v. McLaughlin (1) and McLaughlin vy. City Bank of Sydney ; City Bunk of Sydney v. McLaughlin